The Most Important Things
by chidoriprime
Summary: Sometimes everybody needs a little pep-talk to cheer them up...even the daughter of Commander Shepard.


_**Author's Notes: The Mass Effect series is the exclusive property of Bioware. All characters are not mine, except for my Original Characters (OCs) for this story. I do not own Mass Effect in any way shape or form. This story is purely for the entertainment of both fans and curious readers.**_

_**We now present this fluffy fan story for your own personal enjoyment.**_

_**P.S. Try going to Youtube and listening to Valkyria Chronicles' 'Beautiful Gallia' while reading. I wrote this while it was on, and I think it captures this story perfectly. **_

The Most Important Things

"AHHCHOOO!"

WHOSH!

BANG!

An eruption of noise suddenly exploded inside the little two bedroom apartment and vibrated throughout the upper levels of the Citadel high rise, awakening the two still sleeping occupants violently from their slumber.

"Oh dear, do you think…" one of the voices, a woman, asked.

"Probably," replied a man's voice. "Come on; let's make sure she's okay."

Quickly donning robes, the two of them made their way out of their bedroom and toward the kitchen where the noise had come from. Rounding the corner of the hallway, one stopped for a moment and waited for the other to turn on the light switch, keeping note of the figure huddled in the middle of the room.

Once the lights went on, the mess in the room was clear for them to see. Every cabinet door had been blown open, dishes scattered all over the place, and the hanging pots and pans still swaying and banging off of each other in the aftermath of the gust of biotic wind, whose source remained sitting frozen on the tile floor. A cup of spilt water lay pooling at her feet, and the tears in her eyes threatened to contribute to the spreading liquid.

In spite of the whole situation, both the man and woman couldn't help but laugh a little as they sat down next to the five year old girl and wrapped her up in both their arms.

"Lydia, did you come in here to get a drink?"

"Yes, Mommy," the girl sniffed, "but then my nose started to feel funny…"

"Then you sneezed?" the man asked his daughter gently.

"Uh-huh." said Lydia, before burying her face into her father's chest and crying.

"Hey now Little Wing,what's wrong?" her father asked. "You know we aren't going to get mad at you for what happened. It's just an accident; we can clean it up without a problem."

"Not crying about sneezing," the five-year old choked out.

"Then what about?" her mother asked.

The child reached forward in front of her and picked something up. "Broke Daddy's ship." Clutched in her hand was a toy model of a sleek white and blue starship with the word 'Normandy' printed on one side and missing it's right engine. "It was yours and Mommy's old ship" She looked up at her father, than looked away biting her lip. "Are you mad at me Daddy?"

"Lydia…"

Letting go, the mother let the man take his daughter up fully in his arms, cradling the tiny girl close to his chest. "Lydia, you know better than anyone else that I would never get mad about something like that."

"But you loved this ship. You worked so hard on it when you got it, and now I broke it. So you should be mad at me."

"Lydia… the reason I loved it was because you and Mommy gave it to me, and you helped me build it when I took it out." He pushed her away slightly so she could look up at him.

"I was happy with that model because I had so much fun working on it with you. When I look at it, I can't help but smile because I remember how proud you were with yourself when we finished. Don't worry about it; I can always pester Uncle Jeff and Aunt Edi for another one, and we can work on it again, just like before."

The child kept still, looking at him with wide, tear-stained eyes, waiting for him to finish.

"However, the two things that I would be the most upset about breaking would be both you and your mother. _That_ is something I would be the most mad and sad about. You two are the most important things in my life now, and if something did happen, I would never be able to replace you with anyone else. You got that?"

She nodded, smiling in spite of her tears, and nuzzled her head under his chin affectionately.

"Yeah. I got it."

"I love you sweetheart. You know I always will."

"I love you too, Daddy. For always and forever."

Her mother smiled at the both of them.

XXXX

After cleaning up the mess, Lydia's mom and dad tucked her back into bed and left her to fall asleep with the promise that her Uncle Garrus and Aunt Tali would be coming by to visit tomorrow. Both of them were now back in their own bed slowly drifting off to sleep…

"John?"

"Yeah Liara?"

She smiled at him. "That was sweet. What you said to Lydia really lifted her spirits up. I don't think I've ever seen her smiling in her sleep like that before."

John grinned back at his wife. "What can I say? I'm good at putting people at ease. Stuff like that is always good for any occasion, whether it's motivating a squad before charging Reapers or reassuring my five year old that she's still the most important person in my life."

"Oh? Is she the _only_ important one in your life?" she teased.

"No," he laughed quietly, before leaning forward to kiss her deeply, "definitely not the only one."


End file.
